interviewed by dyanearden

[cellio]

The interview parlor game is back. If you like, request a set of five questions and answer them in your own journal. You should then offer questions to your own readers.

1. Do you read any daily comic strips? What are they?

Online: Dilbert, Fox Trot, Frazz. (Frazz strikes me as similar to Calvin and Hobbes in many ways. if you've never heard of it, check it out!) In the newspaper, most of them except the ones that I actively dislike. Newspaper favorites include Bizarro, Hagar, and Wizard of Id. Oh, and I have a soft spot for Garfield. :-)

2. What is your all time favorite movie?

I don't have one. I like different movies at different times, and even within a given genre it can be hard to name just one. Sorry.

3. What is your "money is no object" dream vacation?

A month or two spent travelling through Europe, with focus on museums, historical sites, and pretty scenery, and including a far-north stop in Scandinavia near the summer solstice to see the midnight sun.

4. Do you have someone you look to as a role model?

Two: my father and my rabbi. My father taught me important principles like honesty, doing what's right (and not turning a blind eye when others do wrong), and love of learning. My rabbi has taught me additional ways to apply all of those and has also helped me work out my understanding of religion.

5. What is your favorite painting?

I'm sorry to wuss on you twice in five questions, but I don't have a single favorite here, either. But I'll at least talk a little about my likes and dislikes more generally.

For the most part, I like art that looks like things, not abstract art that's all about understanding the hidden meaning of this jagged red brush stroke across the canvas (or whatever). That said, I enjoy intricate geometric themes (like in Celtic knotwork), and the subjects of "art that looks like things" don't have to be real -- I've seen a lot of whimsical "space-scapes" that I quite like. I enjoy scenery and critters but am no so into portraits and "still life". (Exception: Robin Wood painted a gorgeous series of character portraits from Anne McCaffery's Pern bookx; I saw the original painting of the first (Robinton) and it was stunning.) I like bold colors.

Comments

[jducoeur]

Newspaper favorites include Bizarro, Hagar, and Wizard of Id.

Wow -- didn't realize Wizard of Id was still being published. I'm probably getting rid of my book collection, which was pretty substantial already when I stopped following the strip, 20+ years ago...

[cellio]

It's still chugging along, yes. Others that I remember from childhood that are still going (with new material) include Beetle Bailey, Blondie, Andy Capp, Marmaduke, and Family Circus. (Note that I do not endorse all of these; in particular, I can't remember a time when I thought Family Circus was consistently funny.)